Today’s Reading: Galatians 1:1-24, 5:1-18; Acts 15
I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. – Galatians 1:6-7
Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Galatia when he heard that the message of salvation was being added to. Jewish believers were including Jewish religious traditions into their gospel message. Instead of preaching a message of salvation by grace through faith, they were telling the Gentiles that they must be circumcised in order to be made right with God (Acts 15:1-2).
Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. – Galatians 1:8-9
Paul’s words were very strong as he boldly protected the message of salvation. He did not worry what people would think; he did not tiptoe around the truth in order not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Paul stood boldly in the gap between what the people wanted to hear versus what they needed to hear, and he proclaimed the truth as revealed to him by the Spirit of God. He did not worry about winning the approval of people, but of God (Galatians 1:10).
Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. – Galatians 5:2-6
THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO EARN OUR SALVATION OR QUALIFY FOR ETERNITY.
We are saved by grace through faith, and the result of that faith looks like love. Our faith expresses itself through our actions as we live out the righteousness that is being produced within us by the Spirit. We have taken off the old and are being daily changed by the new work the Spirit is doing in our lives.
Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. – Galatians 3:24-26
SO I SAY, LET THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE YOUR LIVES. THEN YOU WON’T BE DOING WHAT YOUR SINFUL NATURE CRAVES.
The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. – Galatians 5:16-18
Paul’s words made an impact on the leadership of the whole church in Jerusalem. They wrote a letter and assigned Judas and Silas to travel with Paul and Barnabas in order to confirm that circumcision would not be required of the Gentiles. But this freedom from the Jewish law did not mean they were free to live according to the desires of their sinful nature, which they explained in the closing of their letter.
“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.” – Acts 15:28-29
WE ARE FORGIVEN OF OUR SINS THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS, SAVED BY FAITH IN JESUS AND CALLED TO A LIFE OF HOLINESS.
Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. – Galatians 1:4
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Galatians 5:13-14
WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE IN FREEDOM AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS, BUT WE SHOULD NOT USE OUR FREEDOM TO SATISFY OUR SINFUL NATURE, AND IT IS NOT LOVE TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO REMAIN IN THEIR SIN.
It is the righteous who are saved through faith in God, not those who chose to cling to their unrighteousness. We also cannot be made right with God by self-righteousness or following a set of rules by which to earn salvation. It is only through the gift of God’s righteousness that we can truly experience life.
So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Galatians 3:11
Lord, we thank you for the wisdom found in scripture and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We ask for your Spirit to help us clearly distinguish the difference between freedom from legalism and freedom from sin. May we never use love as an excuse to celebrate sin in the lives of others, but instead use love as the lens through which we help others find freedom from the desires of their sinful nature. May your righteousness continue to do a work in our hearts and lives today. Amen.